CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 11 Occupy Cleveland protesters arrested Friday night on Public Square in an act of civil disobedience emerged on Saturday disheveled but no worse for wear from their overnight stay in city jail.

"Some people got treated a little more roughly than others, but at the end of the day, it wasn't New York," said arrested protester Erin McCardle, 23, of Cleveland. "There was no pepper spray, no batons."

The detained protesters, three women and eight men ranging in age from 19 to 46, pleaded not guilty to charges of resisting arrest, trespassing and violating the city's curfew for Public Square. Cleveland Municipal Judge Ronald Adrine, who held a special arraignment session for the protesters Saturday afternoon, released all 11 on personal bonds.

Mayor Frank Jackson's administration ordered the arrests after the protesters' two-week permit to use Public Square had expired. Occupy Cleveland had maintained a 24-hour presence on the square since protesters first gathered there Oct. 6, but had technically been in violation of the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew during that time.

Administration officials have cited a three-month permit for the Downtown Cleveland Alliance that began Saturday for its annual Christmas lighting display as the reason for enforcing the curfew. Volunteers arrived on the square at 7 a.m. Saturday to begin stringing lights on trees.

Prominent civil rights attorney Terry Gilbert, who arrived at the Justice Center on Saturday after the court hearing concluded, said he and other lawyers would be volunteering to represent the arrested protesters.

"I think it's shameful the mayor's office hasn't been more flexible in dealing with this thing," Gilbert said. "No one needed to be arrested."

Those interviewed Saturday said they were, for the most part, treated respectfully by the police officers who arrested them and the jail guards who oversaw their stays while prisoners who had followed the Occupy Cleveland movement on television had expressed their support.

Others said that until Friday night, the relationship between protesters and police had been cordial and respectful. Having followed the example set by Third District Commander Patrick Stephens, officers had shown genuine concern for protesters well-being as they braved the chilly, damp weather that has marked Occupy Cleveland's two-week stay on Public Square, protesters said.

But they also said that given the change in the city's attitude toward their movement that more arrests are likely.

"I think there's definitely the potential we will be in this position again," McCardle said.

Cleveland City Councilman Brian Cummins, who obtained the two-week permit for Occupy Cleveland that expired at 10 p.m. Friday, agreed. He questioned why the Downtown Cleveland Alliance should receive a three-month permit on Public Square for their Christmas display while the protesters are only given two weeks.

Scott Schneider, 28, of Olmsted Falls, said he was not "glad" about his arrest, but felt it was necessary to take a stand. Like many of his fellow occupiers, he said he was troubled by how corporate money has corrupted politics and that half the country's wealth was in the hands of 1 percent of the population. The global Occupy movement has embraced their standing as the "99 percent."

"I'll get arrested today, I'll get arrested tomorrow," Schneider said. "If it's fighting for my daughter to have an opportunity for the American Dream, I'll get arrested every day."

What happens next is unclear. After their release, the 11 joined a group of about 20 other Occupy Cleveland participants in a rag-tag march toward Tower City for a late lunch. A drummer kept cadence as their voices echoed off buildings with the chant: "Ain't no power like the power of the people and the power of the people don't stop."

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